Aflowerpot,planter,planterette orplant pot is a container in whichflowers and otherplants are cultivated and displayed. Historically, and still to a significant extent today, they are made from plainterracotta with noceramic glaze, with a round shape, tapering inwards. Flowerpots are now often also made fromplastic,metal,wood,stone, or sometimesbiodegradable material. An example of biodegradable pots are ones made of heavybrown paper,cardboard, orpeat moss in which young plants fortransplanting are grown.
Forseedling starting in commercialgreenhouses orpolytunnels, pots usually take the form of trays with cells, each cell acting as one small pot. These trays are often calledflats.
There are usually holes in the bottom of pots, to allow excesswater to flow out,[1] sometimes to asaucer that is placed under the flowerpot.
Flowerpots have a number of uses such as transporting plants to new locations, starting seeds, patio and indoor cultivation of plants, and the growing of tender plants in colder regions indoors.[2] Through the centuries, the use of flowerpots has influenced the horticultural use of plants, and theEgyptians were among the first to use pots to move plants from one location to another. TheRomans brought potted plants inside during cold weather. In the 18th century, pots were used to shipbreadfruit seedlings fromTahiti to theWest Indies. AlsoOrchids,African violets andPelargonium geraniums were shipped in pots from other parts of the world, includingAfrica, toNorth America andEurope.[3]
In the 18th century,Josiah Wedgwood's flowerpots orcachepots, were very popular; they were often highly decorative and used as table centrepieces.[4]
InAthens,earthenware flowerpots were thrown into the sea during the festival of the Gardens ofAdonis.Theophrastus, c. 371 – c. 287 BC, mentions that a plant called southern-wood was raised and propagated in pots because it was difficult to grow.[5]
The top of the flowerpot underneath the rim is commonly known as the shoulder or collar and can aid handling.
Flower pots were traditionally[when?] made fromterracotta. They were made and sold by the cast, which is the number of pots produced from a given quantity of clay.
The traditional sizes[6] were as follows, although others existed:
| Name | No. to cast | Top diameter (inches) | Depth (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ones | 1 | 20 | 18 |
| Twos | 2 | 18 | 14 |
| Fours | 4 | 15 | 13 |
| Sixes | 6 | 13 | 12 |
| Eights | 8 | 12 | 11 |
| Twelves | 12 | 11.5 | 10 |
| Sixteens | 16 | 9.5 | 9 |
| Twenty-fours | 24 | 8.5 | 8 |
| Thirty-twos | 32 | 6 | 6 |
| Forty-eights | 48 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Sixties | 60 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Seventy-twos or thimbles | 72 | 2.5 | |
| Thumbs | 80 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Nineties or thumbs | 90 | 1 |
Other sources give different values, and sometimes names, for the smaller pots, for exampleThe Gardener's Everyday Log Book while agreeing on "twos" to "thirty-twos" has two different types of "sixties" and disagrees on "thumbs" and "thimbles":[7]
| Name | Top diameter (inches) | Depth (inches) |
|---|---|---|
| Large sixties | 4 | 3.5 |
| Small sixties | 3 | 3 |
| Thumbs | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Thimbles | 2 | 2 |
A taller and thinner shape of pot, suitable for deep-rooting plants, was known as along tom, a term still used. The traditional size for a long tom used forauriculas was 3 in diameter by 3.75 to 4 in depth.[8]
In thenursery business, plants are generally grown in round or squareplastic pots. Some organisations (such as theRoyal Horticultural Society) encourage the reuse of (plastic) plant pots and trays across their retail centres.[9] In some garden centres (i.e. Edibleculture), this is done by not letting the plastic growing pots leave the garden centre, and simply place the plant inside acardboard (ornewspaper[10]) sleeve for transportation. Peat pots and paper pots are also being used,[11][12] and have the advantage of facilitatingtransplanting[13] as they do not need to be pulled out of a container for planting purposes (rather, the whole of container and plant is directly planted). Also, for sale purposes, there is no need to recover the container as it is biodegradable and can not and does not need to be reused or recycled. Some types exist focusing on vegetables,[14] whereas other paper pot systems exist that focus on larger plants (i.e. trees, sugar cane, etc.)
The sizes of plastic pots have been assigned anANSI standard by theAmerican Nursery and Landscape Association.[15] Pots designated #1–#100 nominally have the volume of that manygallons, but in fact a #1 pot has a capacity of 0.625 gallons (a "trade gallon"). There is also a Small Plant series: SP1, 6.5–8.0in3; SP2, 13.0–15.0 in3; SP3, 20.0–30.0 in3; SP4, 51–63 in3; SP5, 93–136 in3. An SP4 pot is commonly called a "4-inch" or "quart" container.[16]
Plastic pots come in a number of standard sizes, with a code indicating the approximate dimensions of the diameter at the top.
| Code | Diameter (cm) | Height (cm) | Volume (L) | Approx. (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6F | 6 | 6 | 2.2 | |
| 8F | 8 | 7.5 | 3 | |
| 9F | 9 | 9 | 3.5 | |
| 10F | 10 | 9.5 | 0.5 | 4 |
| 13F/14A | 13 | 12 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
| 15F | 15 | 14 | 6 |
The size of the pot will in part determine the size of the plants. Generally, plants planted in bigger pots will end up being larger; on average plants increase 40–45% inbiomass for a doubling in pot volume.[17] This will in part be due to a higher availability of nutrients and water in larger pots, but also becauseroots will get less pot-bound. This does not mean that all plants will thrive better in bigger pots. Especially forsucculents it is important that the soil does not stay wet for a long time, as this may cause their roots to rot. The smaller those plants are relative to the soil volume, the longer they take to use all pot water.Bonsai plants are also purposely planted in small pots, not only for aesthetics but also because the low supply of nutrients keeps the leaves smaller and the growth down. Because they are often not as drought resistant as succulents, this implies they have to be watered often.
Water in the soil of high pots is more easily pulled down by gravitational forces than in low pots, and hence the soil does not remain wet for a long time.[18] This is relevant as plant roots of most species do not only need water, but also air (oxygen). If the potting soil is too wet plants may suffer from a lack of oxygen around the roots.
The soil in black pots exposed to sunlight will warm up more quickly than soil in white pots. Clay pots are permeable for water and therefore water from inside the pot soil can evaporate through the walls out of the pot. Pots that are glazed or made from plastic lose less water through evaporation. If they have no holes at the bottom either, plants may suffer from remaining too wet.
